GOPer: Play nice & he’ll aid N.Y.

A— Efforts by Gov. Cuomo and other top New York Democrats to pitch themselves as the anti-Donald Trump could wind up hurting, not helping, the state, a GOP state senator warns. Citing the late New York Democratic U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, state Sen. Joseph Griffo (R-Utica) noted how the state has long sent more money to Washington than it gets back.

With President-elect Donald Trump hailing from New York — as does new U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — “the State of New York finds itself in a unique position to finally be recognized and receive the attention we truly deserve from our nation’s leader,” Griffo (photo) wrote in a piece given to the Daily News.

“Yet instead of trying to find common ground with our next President to secure the most advantage for New York, the governor — along with the mayor of New York City and New York’s attorney general — appears more intent to undermine Mr. Trump before he’s even sworn in.”

Cuomo, Mayor de Blasio and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman have vowed to fight many of Trump’s policies, particularly pertaining to women’s and immigrant rights and religious freedoms.

Alluding to talk that Cuomo is eying a potential 2020 presidential run, Griffo said “we expect — and respect — philosophical differences with the new administration . . . But no elected official should actively work to undermine our President simply to position themselves as the Trump alternative.”

He argued that “becoming the antiTrump is not going to help New York. At this moment, with so many factors in our favor, New Yorkers do not need a criticin-chief — we need someone to work with the commander-in-chief.”

“The election is over, so let’s not rush into the 2020 campaign already,” Griffo concluded.

Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi responded that the governor “has always worked in a bipartisan way, as everyone knows.”

“That won’t change,” Azzopardi said. “We hope it doesn’t change for the (state) Senate.”

lll State Republican Chairman Ed Cox’s quick dismissal of reports that state Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan might run for governor in 2018 left some in his party “stunned” and “frustrated.”

Cox said Thursday he hadn’t heard Flanagan was considering running and doubted it was true. He wouldn’t say if he thought the Suffolk County Republican, who he called an excellent majority leader, would make a good gubernatorial candidate. Former state Republican Party executive director Patrick McCarthy was among those who couldn’t understand why his party leader publicly dissed the state’s most powerful elected Republican.

“He could have talked about how we have a deep bench and people for the first time in a long time see an opportunity in ’18 and are fired up,” McCarthy said. “He could have said great things about everyone whose name is out there, not just Flanagan. But you don’t have to take shots.”

Cox spokeswoman Jessica Proud said the GOP chairman has repeatedly said that “if anyone wants to run, they need to get out and meet with the county chairs. Ed is very deferential to the county chairs.”

lll Proving that what’s old is new again, Cuomo called last week to spend $200 million to build a 756-mile paved statewide trail that was actually first proposed in 2005 by then-Gov. George Pataki.

Like Cuomo, Pataki proposed linking existing trails to create a statewide greenway that would run from New York City to Albany and then west to Buffalo. Cuomo’s would go a little further, to the northern Canadian border.

Pataki dubbed his plan the Empire State Greenway. Cuomo? The Empire State Trail.